Published in: Natural Awakenings, Healthy Living (Portland Edition),
March 2008

I confess, I was clueless to the dangers of synthetic fragrances, until my cousin Tina told me she had been diagnosed with COPD. "What's that?" I asked.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a disorder in which the airway tubes in your lungs are partially obstructed, making it difficult to get air in and out. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute,"Cigarette smoking is the most common cause of COPD. Most people with COPD are smokers or former smokers. Breathing in other kinds of lung irritants, like pollution, dust, or chemicals, over a long period of time may also cause or contribute to COPD."

Tina had been a smoker for years. Still, I didn't fully grasp the seriousness of her condition until my husband and I stayed with her and her husband for a week. Tina and I took long walks (she walks daily to maintain the health of her existing lung capacity) down country roads with gentle rises and dips. Occasionally she became short of breath, but I wasn't all that worried as I puffed to keep up with her. My husband and I knew enough to leave our cologne and perfume at home, but we thought we were on safe ground with our bath products. After all, they weren't overly scented, we thought, and the "smell" would wash down the drain when we rinsed. Right?

One evening I stepped from the bathroom, having just finished a hot shower using a lavender-scented cream rinse on my long, fine hair. Tina asked, "What's that smell?"

"Lavender," I said. "I find it very relaxing."

"I don't," she said, so bluntly that it startled me into silence. Okay, so not everybody likes lavender (as in not everybody likes roses or lilac), I thought, somewhat offended...and completely missing the point. For the record, the fragrance of real lavender, which grows wild on Tina's property, does indeed have a soothing, healing effect, and does not irritate her ability to breathe.  As the evening progressed, Tina's breathing became more labored, and she began wheezing and coughing. I blamed it on the nearby field burning that had been going on all day. Finally, she muttered goodnight and staggered off to bed.

The next morning I asked her if she was feeling better. Yes, thankfully, but when I suggested my field burning theory, she told me it was my cream rinse. I made all the feeble arguments that clueless people make: but it's a "natural" scent, I rinsed it out, I barely smell it... Then I offered to go wash it out.

The smell had dissipated enough that it was no longer a problem, she assured me. I felt awful that I had been the cause of such physical distress to someone I loved dearly. "I won't use it anymore," I stated.

"But you need it!" she said, always putting her guests' comfort before her own.

"I don't need it that bad," I told her. "It'll just take me a little longer to brush out my hair; no big deal." And it wasn't a big deal. All it took for us to enjoy the rest of our time together was for me to admit that my cream rinse wasn't as innocent as I wanted to believe and to pack it away. When my husband and I got home a few days later, I researched the ingredients in all the bath products we'd been using. If they were that harmful to someone with a diagnosed breathing condition, what were they doing to us? Here is a sample of what I discovered:

"Fragrance" on a commercial product label can represent hundreds of separate ingredients, many of which are synthetic compounds derived from petroleum. A product labeled "unscented" may still contain fragrance chemicals. Manufacturers often add masking chemicals to cover the scent of other chemicals, resulting in a product that does not produce a detectable scent but is still toxic.

The commercial definition of "natural" is any ingredient derived from a natural substance. Long chemical names followed by the words "derived from coconut oil," for example, are "natural." To create cocamide DEA (often used to adjust the pH in cosmetics) from coconut oil, requires the use of the carcinogenic synthetic chemical diethanolamine (DEA). Dr. Samuel Epstein, Professor of Environmental Health at the University of Illinois, says that "repeated skin applications . . . of DEA-based detergents resulted in a major increase in the incidence of liver and kidney cancer."

The commercial definition of organic is "any compound containing carbon." Carbon is found in anything that has ever lived. The commonly used petrochemical preservative methylparaben is "organic" because it was formed by leaves that rotted thousands of years ago to become the crude oil used to make it. Parabens are preservatives added to personal care products for extending shelf life. 

An increasing number of people are discovering they suffer from fragrance and skin allergies. Symptoms may include dry mouth, headaches, dizziness, eye irritation, rashes, respiratory distress, nausea and abdominal pain. Clinical observation proves fragrances can affect the central nervous system, causing depression, hyperactivity, and irritability.

These unsettling findings prompted me to search for healthier, non-toxic body care. To my pleasant surprise, I found a wide variety of fragrance-free products available.  I researched ingredients lists, compaired prices and read testimonials.  One product line in particular - Dakota Free - impressed me so much, I am now an independent distributor.  One of the easiest things we can do is educate ourselves about products that are free of toxins and synthetic fragrances.  It's a simple way to ensure better health for you and your loved ones.

P.S.   I've been washing my hair in the Pure Prairie bar soap and brushing has never been easier!

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